ness.

They cannot endure to be accounted zealots or bigots in religion; as if a man could love or fear God too much; or be over-faithful and careful in serving him; as if to be most earnest and solicitous (not in promoting our own fancies, but) in discharging our plain duties could be justly reproachable, or were not indeed highly commendable.

These things I may hereafter fully declare; in the mean time it is manifest that such a practice is extremely prejudicial to religion and goodness; so that it may be very useful to employ our meditations upon this text of the apostle, which directly doth oppose and prohibit it.

The same text he otherwhere (in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians) doth repeat in the same terms (only inserting a clause more fully explaining his sense), backing his precept with his own example; for We, saith he there, did so manage the business of collecting and dispensing alms, as to avoid that any man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us; providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of men.

The words do imply a precept of very large extent, and touching a great part of our duty; even all thereof which is public and visible; for which we are accountable to the world, whereof man can take any cognisance; which concerneth all our speech and conversation, all our dealing and commerce, all our deportment relating to human society, civil or spiritual.

I shall first a little consider its meaning and design; then I shall propose reasons and inducements to its observance; then I shall declare the folly of those principles and pretences which obstruct that observance.

I. The meaning of it is, that we should have a special care of our external demeanour and conversation, which cometh under the view and observation of men; that it be exempted from any

• 2 Cor. viii. 20, 21.

We

The terms in which it is expressed are notably emphatical; we are directed προνοεῖν, to provide, to use a providence and forecast in the case: ere we undertake any design, we should deliberate with ourselves, and consider on what theater we shall act, what persons will be spectators, what conceits our practice may raise in them, and what influence probably it will have on them. should not rush on into the public view with a precipitant rashness, or blind negligence, or contemptuous disregard, not caring who standeth in our way, who marketh what we do, what consequence our proceeding may have on the score of its being public and visible: we should advise beforehand, lay our business, and on set purpose order our behaviour with a regard to those to whose sight and notice we expose it, foreseeing how our actions may affect or decline them. So we must provide; what things? καλὰ things fair and handsome; things not only good, innocent, and inoffensive to the sight of men; but goodly, pleasant, and acceptable to well-disposed beholders; such as our apostle doth otherwhere recommend, when he chargeth us to regard, ὅσα σεμνά, whatever things are ven erable, ὅσα προσφιλή, whatever things are lovely, ὅσα εὔφημα, whatever things are of good report, εἴ τις ἔπαινος, whatever things are laudable; and when he doth exhort us to walk εὐσχημόνως, handsomely and decently, in a comely garb and fashion of life; this may add an obligation to some things not directly prescribed by God, which yet may serve to adorn religion, but it cannot detract any thing from what God hath commanded; it doth comprehend all instances of piety and virtue practicable before men; it certainly doth exclude all commission of sin, and omission of duty, for that nothing can be fair or handsome which is ugly in God's sight, which doth not suit to his holy will.

Such things we must provide, ἐνώπιον πάντων ἀνθρώπων, before all men ; not only before some men, to whom we bear

Η "Αμεμπτοι, Phil. ii. 15; 'Αμέγκλητοι, Col. i. 22. • Phil. iv. 8.

Rom. xiii. 13; 1 Thess. iv. 12.

But in this practice, to avoid misapprehensions, we must distinguish; for it is not required that we should do all things openly, nor intended that we should do any thing vainly; but that we should act constantly according to the nature and reason of things, with upright and pure intention: the apostle doth not mean that in our practice we should resemble the Pharisees, whom our Lord rereproveth for doing their alms before men, for loving to pray standing in the synagogues, for doing all their works to be seen of men; performing those acts of piety openly in the corners of the street, which should have been done secretly in the closet; and so doing them out of vanity and ambitious design, to procure the good opinion and praise of men: he doth not intend that we should assume a formal garb of singular virtue; that we should aim to seem better than we are, counterfeiting any point of religion or virtue; that we should affect to appear even as good as we are, exposing all our piety to common view; that we should sound a trumpet before us," making an ostentation of any good deeds, catching at reputation or applause for them; that we should do any commendable thing chiefly to obtain the good opinion of the world, or to escape its censure: infinitely far it was from the apostle's intention, that we should be like those whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness; that is, like those Pharisees, who did outwardly appear righteous, but within were full of hypocrisy and iniquity: No;

In some cases we must be reserved, and keep our virtue close to ourselves; and ever under a fair show there must be a real substance of good, together with an honest intention of heart;* a

be inward; we must endeavour to sanctify our life and conversation, but we must especially labour to purify our hearts and affections.

Join the precept with others duly limiting it, and it doth import, that with pure sincerity and unaffected simplicity (void of any sinister or sordid design) we should in all places, upon all occasions, in all matters, carefully discharge that part of our duty which is public, according to its nature, season, and exigency, that is, publicly; not abstaining from the practice of those good deeds, which cannot otherwise than openly be well performed; or the conspicuous performance whereof is absolutely needful in regard to God's law and the satisfaction of our conscience, is plainly serviceable to the glory of God, is very conducible to the edification of our neighbour, or which may be useful to good purposes concurrent with those principal ends: we should as good trees from a deep root of true piety, in due season naturally, as it were, shoot forth good fruits, not only pleasant to the sight, but savoury to the taste and wholesome for use; as St. Paul, who, as he saith of himself, that he did provide things honest in the sight of all men, so he also doth affirm, that his rejoicing was this, the testimony of his conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had his conversation in the world."

There are indeed some duties, or works of piety and virtue, the nature whereof directeth, that in the practice of them we should be reserved; such as those wherein the world is not immediately concerned, and which may with best advantage be transacted between God and our own souls; as private devotion, meditation on God's word and will, the discussion of our consciences, voluntary exercises of penitence, and the like: such also be those wherein the intervention or notice of few persons is required; as deeds of particular charity in dispensing alms, good advice, friendly reproof; the which sort of duties our Lord hath taught us to perform in secret, or as closely as we

the works of mercy, saith St. Austin, the affection of charity, the sanctity of godliness, the incorruptness of chastity, the moderation of sobriety, these are perpetually to be held, whether we are in the public or at home; whether before men or in the closet, whether we speak or keep silence.*

In the practice of them, it is true, we mainly should respect the approving our conscience to God, with expectation of our recompense from him; not being much concerned in the judgment or pleasure of men, purely considered in them selves;" not aiming at any interest of credit or profit from them as a reward of our work. We ought, as St. Austin saith, while we do good, to be seen, but we ought not to do it that we may be seen; the end of our joy, the bound of our comfort, should not be there; so that we should think ourselves to have obtained the whole fruit of a good work, when we have been seen and commended.‡ No, whatever we do, we should, as the apostle directeth, do it as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; doing it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord we shall receive the reward of the inherit

ance.

Yet nothing in the mean-time should hinder us from performing such necessary duties: strictly and exactly, with our most diligent care and endeavour, even in that light which their nature doth carry in it.

How much soever of our virtue or piety out of humility or modesty we may conceal, yet we must be careful of discovering any vice or irreligion, either by notoriously committing any thing forbid

*

Opera misericordiæ, affectus charitatis, sanctitas pietatis, incorruptio castitatis, modestia sobrietatis, semper hæc tenenda sunt; sive cum in publico sumus, sive cum in domo; sive ante homines, sive in cubiculo; sive loquentes, sive tacentes. Aug. in Ep. 1; Joh. Tract. 8. +

non cum fama sed cum rerum natura deliberandum est.- Sen. Ep. 81.

Si times spectatores non habebis imitatores; debes ergo videri, sed non ad hoc debes facere, ut videaris, non ibi debet esse finis gaudii tui, non ibiterminus lætitiæ tuæ, ut putes te totum fructum consecutum esse boni operis, cum visus fueris atque laudatus.- Ibid.

den by God, or omitting any thing commanded by him.

This we should not do upon any terms, upon any pretence whatever; no wicked fashion should engage us, no bad example should inveigle us, no favour of men should allure us, no terror should scare us thereto; we should not out of fear, out of shame, out of complaisance, out of affected prudence or politic design; out of deference to the quality, dignity, or authority of any person; out of regard to any man's desire or pleasure ; we should not to decline offence, envy, blame, reproach, ill treatment, or upon any such account, comply in any sinful practice, waive any duty, neglect any season of performing a good deed, whereby we may glorify God or edify our neighbour, or promote the welfare of our own soul.

To such a practice, according to the intent of St. Paul's injunction, we are obliged; and thereto we may be induced by divers considerations, particularly by those which we shall now propose.

1. We may consider that the public is the proper, natural, and due place of goodness; it should dwell in the light, it should walk freely and boldly everywhere, it should expose itself to open view, that it may receive from rational creatures its due approbation, respect, and praise;* it by publicness is advanced, and the more it doth appear, the more beautiful, the more pleasant, the more useful it is; yielding the fairer lustre, the greater influence, the better effects; thereby diffusing and propagating itself, becoming exemplary, instructive and admonitive; drawing lovers and admirers to it: exciting and encouraging men to embrace it; wherefore it is very absurd that it should skulk or sneak; it is a great damage to the public that it should retire from common notice.

On the other hand, it is proper for wickedness never to appear or to show its head in view; it should be confined to darkness and solitude, under guard of its natural keepers, shame and fear; it should be exterminated from all conversation among rational creatures, and banished to the infernal shades: publicness doth augment and aggravate it; the more it is seen, the more ugly, the more loathsome, the more noxious it is; its odious shape being disclosed, its noisome steams being dispersed, its pestilent effects being conveyed thereby.

Wherefore, to smother virtue (that fair child of light) in privacy, and to vent sin (the works of darkness) openly, is quite to transplace things out of their natural situation and order; according to which we are taught by our Lord, that he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest; and by St. Paul, that every one who doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh he to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved :* so indeed it is, and will be, where conscience retaineth its due sway and force; where a due respect and reverence are preserved for goodness.

As that any good cometh from detection of sin is an accidental advantage; so that any mischief doth ever follow the manifestation of virtue is an unnatural abuse; the which may well be prevented: there can be no danger of acting any good most evidently, if we do withal act sincerely, having purified our hearts from dishonest intention and from ambitious vanity, the fear of which should not wholly drive virtue under the hatches and bring vice upon the stage. But,

2. We should consider, that we cannot really in any competent or tolerable measure be good men, without approving ourselves such in our conversation before

men.

Whatever may be pretended, it commonly doth happen, and it ever is to be suspected, that the invisible piety which is not accompanied with visible conscientiousness is false, or is no piety at all; or that they who have little care and conscience to serve God publicly have much less to serve him privately; or that such as betray a scandalous negligence of their ways will hardly maintain a careful watch over their hearts; for the same causes (be it profane infidelity, or looseness of principles, or supine incogitancy, or sloth, or stupidity) which dispose them to disregard God and his laws before the world,

more effectually will incline them to neg. lect God and forget their duty by themselves, where beside their own conscience there is no witness, no judge, no censor to encourage or reproach them. But admit it possible, and put case, that sometimes the heart and conversation may not run parallel; that a man may better govern his interior thoughts and affections than he doth manage his exterior behaviour and actions; that a man secretly may cleave to God, although he seemeth openly to desert him; yet this will not suffice to constitute or denominate a man good; because much of goodness, as we have showed, even the nobler half thereof (that part whereby God is most glorified, and whereby the world is most benefited), doth lie in open and visible practice: that virtue therefore must be very imperfect, that obedience must be very lame, which is deficient in so great a part.

As there can be no fair pretence to goodness, where so little thereof is conspicuous; so there can be no real integrity thereof, where so much of duty is wanting.

Our Lord hath taught us, that every tree is known by its fruit; and St. James saith, that faith is showed by works ;* and so it is that a man can hardly be good in any reasonable degree without appearing such. Impiety may, but piety cannot be quite concealed. As gold may be counterfeited (for all is not gold that glistereth), yet true gold always doth look like gold; so although bad men sometimes may seem good, yet good men also must seem such, appearing in their own native temper and lustre.

Goodness cannot be disguised in the shape of evil, because simplicity and innocence are essential ingredients of it: any mixture of notorious sin, any visible neglect of duty assuring (yea formally making) a want of it, or a real defect therein: it may be daubed with false aspersions, it may be dimmed by the breath of unjust and uncharitable censures; but, wiping them off, its natural hue certainly will appear.

Wherefore, if we would satisfy ourselves in our own consciences, or justify ourselves to others, that we are truly

James ii. 10. Luke vi. 44; James ii. 18.