A Prayer for a contented Spirit, and the Grace of Almighty God, Father and Lord of all the crea tures, who haft difpofed all things and all chances fo as may beft glorifie thy Wifdom, and ferve the ends of thy Justice, and magnifie thy Mercy, thy fecret and undifcernible ways bringing good out of evil; I moft humbly befeech thee to give me Wisdom from above, that I may adore thee and admire thy ways and footsteps, which are in the great Deep, and not to be fearched out: teach me to fubmit to thy providence in all things, to be content in all changes of perfon and condition, to be temperate in profperity, and to read my duty in the lines of thy mercy, and in adverfity to be meek, patient and refigned, and to look through the cloud, that I may wait for the confolation of the Lord, and the day of Redemption; in the mean time doing my duty with an unwearied diligence, and an undisturbed refolution, having no fondness for the vanities or poffeffions of this world, but laying up my hopes in Heaven and the rewards of holy living, and being strengthned with the fpirit of the inner Man, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHAP. J CHA P. III. Of Chriftian Juftice. Uftice is by the Chriftian Religion injoined in all its parts by these two propofitions in Scripture: [What foever ye would that men should do to you, even fo doe to them.] This is the measure of Commutative Justice, or of that Juftice which fuppofes exchange of things profitable for things profitable: that as I fupply your need, you may fupply mine; as I do a benefit to you, I may receive one by you: and because every man may be injured by another, therefore his fecurity fhall depend upon mine: if he will not let me be fafe, he fhall not be fate himself; (only the manner of his being punifhed is upon great reason both by God and all the World taken from particulars, and committed to a publick dif-interested person, who will do Juftice without paffion both to him and to me) if he refufes to do me advantage, he fhall receive none when his needs require it. And thus God gave neceffities to men, that all men might need; and feveral abilities to feveral perfons, that each man might help to fupply the publick needs, and by joining to fill up all wants, they may be knit together by Juftice, as the parts of the World are by Nature: and he hath made all obnoxious to injuries, and made every little thing ftrong enough to do us hurt by fome inftrument or other; and hath given us all a fufficient ftock of felf-love, and defire of felf-prefervation, to be as the chain to tie together all the parts of fociety, and to rettrain us from doing violence, left we be violently dealt withal our felves. The other part of Justice is commonly called DiftriRom. 13. 7. butive, and is commanded in this Rule, [Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom hoOwe no man any thing, but to love one another.] This Juftice is distinguished from the first, because the obligation depends not upon contract or exprefs bargain, but paffes upon us by vertue of fome command of God, or of our Superiour, by nature or by grace, by Piety or Religion, by truft or by office, according to that commandment, [ As every man hath received the gift, fo let him minifter the fame one to another, as good Stewards of the manifold grace of God.] And as the first confiders an equality of perfons in refpect of the contract or particular neceffity: this fuppofes a difference of perfons, and no particular bargains, but fuch neceffary intercourfes as by the laws of God or man are introduced. But I fhall reduce all the particulars of both kinds to thefe four heads; 1. Obedience. 2. Provifion. 3. Negotiation. 4. Reftitution. SECT. I. Of Obedience to our Superiours. i Pet. 4. UR Superiours are fet over us in affairs of the World, or the affairs of the Soul and things pertaining to Religion: and are called accordingly, Ecclefiaftical or Civil. Towards whom our duty is thus generally defcribed in the New Teftament. For Temporal or Civil Governours the Commands are thefe : [Render to Cafar the things that are Cafar's] and [Let Rom. 13. 1 every foul be fubject to the higher Powers: For there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Whofoever therefore refifteth the power,refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that refift shall receive to themfelves damnation] and [Put them in mind to be fubject to rit. 3.1. principalities and powers, and to obey magistrates] and Submit your felves to every ordinance of man, for the 1 Fet. 2. Lord's fake; whether it be to the King, as fupreme, or unto Governours, as unto them that are fent by him, for the punishment of evildoers, and the praise of them that do well.] For Spiritual or Ecclefiaftical Governours thus we are commanded: [Obey them that have the rule over you, Heb. 13. 17. and fubmit your felves, for they watch for your fouls, as they that must give an account] and [Hold fuch in reputa. Phil. 2. 22. L 2 tion] Sect. 7 tion ] and [To this end did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things] faid St. Paul to the Church of Corinth. * Our duty is reducible to practice by the following Rules. Acts and duties of Obedience to all our Superiours. 1. We must obey all humane Laws appointed and constituted by lawful Authority, that is, of the fupreme power, according to the constitution of the place in which we live; all Laws, I mean, which are not against the Law of God. 2. In obedience to humane Laws we must observe the letter of the Law where we can without doing violence to the reafon of the Law, and the intention of the Lawgiver but where they crofs each other, the charity of the Law is to be preferred before its difcipline, and the reason of it before the letter. 3. If the general reason of the Law ceases in our particular, and a contrary reafon rifes upon us, we are to procure difpenfation, or leave to omit the obfervation of it in fuch circumstances, if there be any perfons or office appointed for granting it: but if there be none, or if it is not eafily to be had, or not without an inconvenience greater than the good of the obfervation of the Law in our particular, we are difpenfed withal in the nature of the thing, without farther procefs or trouble. 4. As long as the Law is obligatory, fo long our obedience is due; and he that begins a contrary cuftom without reafon, fins: but he that breaks the Law when the cuftom is entred and fixed, is excused; because it is fuppofed the legislative power confents when by not punishing it Mores leges perduxerunt in poteftatem fuam. fuffers difobedience to grow up to a cuftom. 5. Obedience to humane Laws must be for confcience fake that is, becaufe in fuch obedience publick order, and charity, and benefit is concerned, and becaufe the Law of God commands us, therefore we mult make a confcience in keeping the juft Laws of Super Superiours: and although the matter before the ma- 'Eas king of the Law was indifferent, yet now the obedi- v ence is not indifferent, but next to the Laws of God, diaper, we are to obey the Laws of all our Superiours, who the Tav ὅταν ἢ more publick they are, the firft they are to be in the order of obedience. 6. Submit to the punishment and cenfure of the Laws, and feek not to reverse their judgment by oppofing; but by fubmitting, or flying, or filence, to pass through it or by it as we can, and although from inferiour Judges we may appeal where the Law permits us, yet we must fit down and reft in the judgment of the Supreme; and if we be wronged, let us complain to God of the injury, not of the perfons, and he will deliver thy Soul froin unrighteous Judges. 7. Do not believe thou haft kept the Law, when thou haft fuffered the punishment. For although patiently to fubmit to the power of the Sword be a part of Obedience, yet this is fuch a part as fuppofes another left undone and the Law punishes, not because fhe is as well pleased in taking vengeance as in being obeyed, but because she is pleased, she uses punishment as a means to fecure obedience for the future, or in others. Therefore although in fuch cafes the Law is fatisfied, and the injury and the injuftice is paid for, yet the fins of irreligion, and fcandal, and difobedience to God must still be fo accounted for, as to crave pardon, and be washed off by repentance. 8. Humane Laws are not to be broken with scandal,nor at all without reason; for he that does it caufelefly is a defpifer of the Law, and undervalues the authority. For humane Laws differ from Divine Laws principally in this: 1. That the pofitive commands of a man may be broken upon fmaller and more reasons than the pofitive commands of God; we may upon a fmaller reafon omit to keep any of the fafting days of the Church, than to omit to give alms to the poor : only this, the reafon must bear weight according to the gravity and concernment of the Law; a Law in a small matter may be omitted for a small reason, in a great matter not without a greater reason. And, L3 2. The raideαφέρει. Αγ. Eth.5.c.7. |