but he never went, he turns another way, non facit quæ dixerat, he keeps not his own word, with his own soul: when he is gone out of his right way, a sickness, a disgrace, a loss overtakes him, the arrows of the Almighty stick in him, and the venom thereof drinks up his spirit; temporal afflictions, and spiritual afflictions meet in him, like two clouds, and beat out a thunder upon him; like two currents, and swallow him; like two millstones, and grind him; and then he comes to his Domine quid retribuam? Lord, what shall I give thee, to deliver me now? and non facit quæ dixerat, he pays none of those vows, performs no part of that which he promised then. Christ had his consummatum est, and this sinner hath his Christ ends his passion, and he ends his action; Christ ends his affliction, and he ends his affection: Distulit securim, attulit securitatem, says St. Augustine of this case; As soon as the danger is removed, his devotion is removed too. The end of all is, that what punishment soever God reserves for them, who never heard of the name of his Son Christ Jesus at all, or for them who have pretended to receive him, but have done it idolatrously, superstitiously; we that have heard him, we that have had the Scriptures preached and applied to us sincerely, shall certainly have the heavier condemnation, for having had that which they wanted: our multiplicity of preachers, and their assiduity in preaching; our true interpretation of their labours, when we do hear, and our diligent coming, that we may hear, shall leave us in worse state than they found us, si non fecerimus, if we do not do that which we hear. And to do the Gospel, is to do what we can for the preservation of the Gospel. I know what I can do, as a minister of the Gospel, and of God's Word; out of his Word I can preach against linseywoolsey garments; out of his Word I can preach against ploughing with an ox, and with an ass, against mingling of religions. I know what I can do, as a father, as a master; I can preserve my family from attempts of Jesuits. Those that are of higher place, magistrates, know what they can do too: they know they can execute laws; if not to the taking of life, yet to the restraining of liberty and it is no seditious saying, it is no sauciness, it is no bitterness, it is no boldness to say, that the spiritual death of those souls, who perish by the practice of those

seducers, whom they might have stopped, lies upon them. And how knows he, who lets a Jesuit escape, whether he let go but a fox, that will deceive some simple soul in matter of religion; or a wolf, who, but for the protection of the Almighty, would adventure upon the person of the highest of all? Non facient quæ dixeris, is as far as the text goes; They will not do that we say but quæ dixerint, is more; they will not do that which themselves have said: but, quæ juraverint, is most of all; if they will not do that, which for the preservation of the Gospel, they have taken an oath to do, the increpation, the malediction intended by God, in this text, that all our preaching, and all our hearing shall aggravate our condemnation, will fall upon us and therefore, this being the season, in which, especially, God affords you the performance of that part of this prophecy, assiduous, and laborious, and acceptable, and useful preaching; where all you, of all sorts, are likely to hear the duties of administration towards others, and of mortification in yourselves, powerfully represented unto you, this may have been somewhat necessarily said by me now, for the removing of some stones out of their way, and the chafing of that wax, in which they may thereby make the deeper and clearer impressions; that so, we may not only be to you, as a lovely song, sung to an instrument; nor you only hear our words, but do them. Amen.

SERMON CXXXIV.

A LENT SERMON PREACHED AT WHITEHALL,

FEBRUARY 20, 1628.

JAMES ii. 12.

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

THIS is one of those seven epistles, which Athanasius and Origen called catholic; that is, universal; perchance because they are

not directed to any one church, as some others are, but to all the Christian world: and St. Hierome called them canonical; perchance because all rules, all canons of holy conversation are comprised in these epistles: and Epiphanius, and Ecumenius called them circular; perchance, because as in a circle, you cannot discern which was the first point, nor in which, the compass begun the circle; so neither can we discern in these epistles, whom the Holy Ghost begins withal, whom he means principally, king or subject, priest or people, single or married, husband or wife, father or children, masters or servants; but universally, promiscuously, indifferently, they give all rules, for all actions, to all persons, at all times, and in all places; as in this text, in particular, which is not, by any precedent, or subsequent relation, by any connexion or coherence, directed upon any company, or any degree of men for the apostle does not say, Ye princes, nor ye people; but ye, ye in general, to all, So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty: so these epistles are catholic, so they are canonical, and they circular so. But yet, though in a circle we know not where the compass began, we know not which was the first point; yet we know, that the last point of the circle returns to the first, and so becomes all one; and as much as we know the last, we know the first point. Since then the last point of that circle, in which God hath created us to move, is a kingdom (for it is the kingdom of heaven) and it is a court (for it is that glorious court, which is the presence of God, in the communion of his saints) it is a fair and a pious conception, for this congregation, here present now in this place, to believe, that the first point of this circle of our apostle here, is a court too; and that the Holy Ghost, in proposing these duties in his general ye, does principally intend, ye that live in court, ye whom God brings so near to the sight of himself, and of his court in heaven, as that you have always the picture of himself, and the portraiture of his court in your eyes: for a religious king is the image of God, and a religious court is a copy of the communion of saints. And therefore be you content to think, that to you especially our apostle says here, Ye, ye who have a nearer propinquity to God, a more assiduous conversation with God, by having better helps than other inferior stations do afford (for

though God be seen in a weed, in a worm, yet he is seen more clearly in the sum) So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

Now, as the first devils were in heaven (for it was not the punishment which they feel in hell, but the sin which they committed in heaven, which made them devils) and yet the fault was not in God, nor in the place; so if the greatest sins be committed in courts (as even in Rome, where they will needs have an innocent church, yet they confess a guilty court) the faults are personal, theirs that do them, and there is no higher author of their sin. The apostle does not bid us say, that it is so in courts; but lest it should come to be so, he bids us give these rules to courts, So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by a law of liberty. First then, here is no express precept given, no direct commandment, to speak the Holy Ghost saw, there would be speaking enough in courts; for, though there may be a great sin in silence, a great prevarication in not speaking in a good cause, or for an oppressed person; yet the lowest voice in a court, whispering itself, speaks aloud, and reaches far; and therefore, here is only a rule to regulate our speech, Sic loquimini, So speak ye. And then, as here is no express precept for speaking, so here is no express precept for doing; the Holy Ghost saw, there would be doing enough, business enough in court: for, as silence, and halfsilence, whispering, may have a loud voice; so, even undoing may be a busy doing; and therefore, here is only a rule to regulate our doings too, Sic facite, So do ye. And lastly, as there is speaking enough, even in silence, and doing enough, even in undoing, in court; so the court is always under judgment enough. Every discontented person that hath missed his preferment, though he have not merited it; every drunkard that is over-heat, though not with his own wine; every conjecturing person, that is not within the distance to know the ends, or the ways of great actions, will judge the highest counsels, and executions of those counsels. The court is under judgment enough, and they take liberty enough; and therefore here is a rule to regulate our liberty, a law of liberty: So speak ye, and, &c. But though for the more benefit of the present congregation, we fix the first point of this circle, that is, the principal purpose of the Holy Ghost, upon

the court; yet our text is an amphitheatre. An amphitheatre consists of two theatres: our text hath two parts, in which, all men, all may sit, and see themselves acted; first, in the obligation that is laid upon us, upon us all, Sic loquimini, sic facite: and then in the reason of this holy diligence, and religious cautelousness, Quia judicandi, Because you are all to be judged, by, &c., which two general parts, the obligation, and the reason, flowing into many subdivided branches, I shall, I think, do better service, both to your understandings, and to your memory, and to your affections, and consciences, to present them as they shall arise anon, in their order, than to pour them out, all at once

now.

First then, in our first part, we look to our rule, in the first duty, our speaking; Sic loquimini, So speak ye. The comic poet gives us a good caution, Si servus semper consuescat silentio, fiet nequam; That servant that says nothing, thinks ill. As our Nullifidians, men that put all upon works, and no faith; and our Solifidians, men that put all upon faith and no works, are both in the wrong; so there is a danger in multiloquio, and another in nulliloquio: he that speaks over freely to me, may be a man of dangerous conversation; and the silent and reserved man, that makes no play, but observes, and says nothing, may be more dangerous than he: as the Roman emperor professed to stand more in fear of one pale man, and lean man, than of twenty that studied and pursued their pleasures, and loved their ease, because such would be glad to keep things in the state they then were, but the other sort affected changes: so for the most part, he that will speak, lies as open to me, as I to him; speech is the balance of conversation. Therefore, as God is not merx, but pretium; gold is not ware, but the price of all ware; so speaking is not doing, but yet fair-speaking prepares an acceptation before, and puts a value after, upon the best actions. God hath made other creatures gregalia, sociable, besides man;

sheep, and deer,

and pigeons, will flock, and herd, and troop, and meet together; but when they are met, they are not able to tell one another why they meet. Man only can speak; silence makes it but a herding: that that makes conversation, is speech, Qui datum deserit, respuit datorem, says Tertullian. He that uses not a benefit,