whom they are to blame. At my hands is only required truth, in fincerely discharging a common Care, at others, care of profitably delivering a common Truth. As for me, the end of whofe coming, is to exhort you to a gracious interpreting of each others Imperfections, having first premifed this Apology for my felf, it is now time to defcend to the Expofition of that Scripture, which I have propos'd, Infirmum in Fide recipite, &c. Him that is weak in the Faith, receive, &c.

G

Oodness, of all the Attributes, by which a man may be stiled, hath chief Place and Soveraignty'; Goodness, I fay, not that Metaphyfical Conceit which we difpute of in our Schools, and is nothing elfe but that Perfection which is inwardly due unto the Being of every Creature, and without which, either it is not at all, or but in part, that whofe name it bears; but that which the common fort of men do ufually understand, when they call a man Good; by which is meant nothing elfe, but vye penger ñ, a soft, and freet, and flexible Difpofition. For all other Excellencies and Emi nent Qualities which raife in the minds of men fome Opinion and Conceit of us, may occafion peradventure fome ftrong refpect in another kind; but Impreffion of Love and true Respect, nothing can give but this: Greatnefs of Place and Authority may make us fear'd, Depth of Learning admir'd, Abundance of Wealth may make men outwardly obfequious unto us; but that which makes one man a God unto another, that which doth tie the Souls of men unto us; that which like the Eye of the Bridegroom, in the Book of Canticles, ravishes the Heart of him that looks upon it, is Goodness: Without this, Mankind were but (as one fpeaks) Commiffiones mera, arena fine calce, Stones heapt together without Mortar, or pieces of Boards without any Cement to bind and tie them together: For this it hath fingular in it, above all other Properties, of which our Nature is capab'e,

that it is the most available to Humane Society, incorporating, and as it were kneading us together by foftness of Difpofition, by being compaffionate, by gladly communicating to the Neceffity of others, by transfusing our felves into others, and receiving from others into our felves. All other Qualities, how excellent foever they are, seem to be fomewhat of a melancholick and folitary Difpolition: They fhine then brightest, when they are in fome one alone, or attain'd unto by few ; once make them common, and they lose their Luftre: But Goodness is more fociable, and rejoyceth in equalling others unto it felf, and lofes its Nature, when it ceafes to be communicable. The Heathens fpeaking of God, ufually ftile him by two Attributes, Optimus & Maximus, the one importing his Goodness, the other his Power. In the first place they call'd him Optimus, a Name fignifying his Goodness, giving the Precedency unto it; and in the fecond place Maximus, a Name betokening his Power, yea, Goodness, is that wherein God himself doth most delight himself; and therefore all the Acts of our Saviour, while he converfed on Earth among men, were purely the Iffues of his Tenderness, without any Afperfion of Severity, two only excepted: I mean his chafing the Prophaners out of the Temple, and the Curfe laid upon the innocent Fig-tree; and yet in both thefe, Mercy rejoyced against Judgment, and his Goodness had the Preheminence. For the first brought fome fmart with it indeed, but no harm at all, as Fathers use to chaftife their Children by means that fear them, more than hurt them. The fecond of it felf was nothing, as being practis'd on a Creature dull and fenfelefs of all Smart and Punishment; but was meerly exemplary for us, fterilitas noftra in ficu vapulat, Chrift whips our Fruitlefnefs in the innocent Fig-tree; like as the manner was among the Perfians, when their Great Men had offended, to take their Garments and beat them. Now

that

that gracious way of Goodness, which it pleafed our Saviour thu's to tread himself before us, the fame hath he left behind him to be gone by us, and hath ordained us a courfe of Religious and Chriftian fervice unto him, known by nothing more than Goodness and Compaffion. The very Heathen themfelves, though utter Enemies unto it, have candidly afforded us this Teftimony. Ammianus Marcellinus taxing Georgius, a factious and proud Bishop of Alexandria, for abufing the weakness of Conftantius the Emperor, by bafe Tale-bearing, and privy Informations, notes precifely that he did it, oblitus profeffionis fuæ, quæ nil nifi juftum fuadet & lene; quite befides the meaning of his Profeffion, whofe efpecal Notes were Gentleness and Equity. And Tertullian tells us, that antiently among the Heathen, the Profeffors of Chriftianity were called, not Chriftiani, but Chreftiani, from a Word fignifying Benignity and fweetness of Difpofition. The Learned of our times, who for our Inftruction have written De Notis Ecclefie, by what Notes and Signs we may know the Church of Chrift, may feem to have but ill forgotten this, which the Heathen Man had fo' clearly difcovered. For what reafon is there, why that fhould not be one of the chiefeft Notes of the Church of Chrift, which did fo efpecially Characterise a Chriftian Man, except it were the Decay of it at this day in the Church: of this thing therefore, fo excellent in it felf, fo useful,fo principally commended by the Precept and Example of our Bleffed Saviour; one efpecial part is, if not the whole, which here by our Apostle is commended unto us, when he fpeaks unto us of kindly intreating, and making much of fuch, who are, as he calls them, weak in Faith.

Him that is weak in Faith, &c. To know the natural Ground and Occafion of which Words, it fhall be very pertinent to note unto you, that with the Church of Chrift, as it fignifies a Company of Men on Earth, it fare; no otherwift, than it doth with other Societies, and Ci

vil Corporations. One thing there is unavoidable, and natural to all Societies, which is the greateft Occafioner; yea, the very Ground of Dif-union and Diffent, I mean, Inequality of Perfons and Degrees. All are not of the fame Worth, and therefore all cannot carry the fanme Efteem and Countenance; yet all, even the meaneft, are alike impatient of Difcountenance and Contempt, be the Perfons never fo great from whence it proceeds. Wherefore we find that in States governed by the People, nothing did more exafparate the common fort, than the Conceit of being contemned by men of greater place. For the taking away therefore of Tumult and Combustion, which through this Inequality might arise, it was antiently counted an excellent Policy in the Roman State, that men of greater Account and Place, did, as it were, Jhare the Inferior fort amongst themselves, and every one according to his ability, entertain'd fome part of them as Clients, to whom they yielded all lawful Favour and Protection. Even thus it fares with the Church of God, it cannot be, that all in it should be of equal worth, it is likewife distinguished into Plebem and Optimates. Some there are, and thofe that either through abundance of Spiritual Graces, or elfe of natural Gifts, do far out-ftrip a great part of other Chriftians; thefe are the Optimates, the Nobles of the Church, whom our Apostle fomewhere calls Strong men in Chrift. Others there are, and those most in number, who either becaufe God hath not fo liberally bleft, them with Gifts of Understanding and Capacity, or by reason of fome other Imperfections, are either not fo deeply skill'd in the Mysteries of Chrift, and of Godliness, or otherwife weak in Manners and Behaviour; and thefe are the Plebs, the Many of the Church, whom our Apostle fometimes calls Brethren of low degree, fometimes Babes in Chrift, and here in my Text the weak and fick in faith. Men, by nature querulous, and apt to take excepti

on,

on, δυσάρεσον γ' δι νοσέντες ἀπτείας ὑm, faith Elelira in the Tragedy; A fick man is a pettifh and wayward creature, hard to be pleased; as therefore with the Sick, fo are we now to deal with a Neighbour, weak and fick of his fpiritual Conftitution, and much we are to bear with his Frowardness, where we cannot remedy it. For as Varro fometimes fpeaks of the Laws of Wedlock, Uxoris. vitium aut tollendum eft, aut ferendum, either a man must amend, or endure the Faults of his Wife; he that amends them, makes his Wife the better, but he that patiently endures them, makes Himself the better; fo is it much more true in dealing with our weak Brethren, if we can by our Behaviour remedy their Inbecillities, we make them the better; if not, by enduring them we shall make our felves the better; for fo fhall we encrease the Virtue of our Patience, and purchafe to our felves at Gods Hand a more abundant Reward. A great part of the Luftre of a Chriftian Mans Vertue were utterly obfcure, fhould it want this mean of fhewing it felf. For were all men ftrong, were all of fufficient difcretion to fee and judge of Conveniency, where were the glory of our forbearance? As well therefore to increase the Reward of the ftrong man in Chrift, as to stop the Whining and Murmuring of the weaker fort, and to give content at all hands, our Apostle, like a good Tribune in this Text, gives a Rule of Christian Popularity, advifing the man of worthier parts, to avoid all flighting Behaviour, to open the arms of tenderness and compaffion, and to demerit by all courtefie the ment of meaner Rank, fo to prevent all Inconvenience, that might arife out of difdainful and refpeclefs Carriage; for God is not like unto mortal Princes, jealous of the Man whom the People love. In the World, nothing is more dangerous for great men, than the extraordinary Favour and Applaufe of the People; many excellent men have mifcarried by it. For Princes ftand

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much