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Show :;r8 J668. ~ Chap. IX. 1Pdo3o No CROSS, l{a CROWN. Vox... I. and Countenance too. In this Senfe, the Apoftle Peter a~vifed Chriili:m Men, To H011our tbeif Wives , that is, to ~ve, Val~t~, CbeTijh., CoJmtrntmJ:! and Eflcem them for riJeir Fidel!ry "f!d .Ajfcflum to tbetr _llujb_a~ds; /or tb~v Tendunifs and C~re ov~r. tbeu· ChJI~ren, and fur. tberr Dzlfge~ct a_nJ Czr .. cumfpt8io,1 in tbttr FamJ!tes: _Thcres no Certmomotl! BebavzouJ, or Gazrdy Titks tequifite to exprefs thts Hono11r. Thus God Honours Holy Men: They '(fays the Lord) rb•t HonQur. me, I ~iU Honour; and they tha~ ,defpife me, jhaU b.< lightly efteemed: That IS, I w!ll do Good to them, I wt\1 love, Blefs, Coumenance, and Profper them th,:u. !:'fonour me, that Obey me:. But they th:tt Defpife me, that Refill my Spmt, and br.eak my Law, rht!C fhall be tigbn) c!leemed,_little fet by, or accounted o~; tb_ey fha!J not find Favour with Gt•d, nor Rrgbteotlf lilen. And fc;> we fee 1t dally among Men: If the Grear vitlt, or concern themfelves to md tbe Poor, ~e fay,_, Tbat jucb a Grear )Han did me tbt: Honour to come and fee or help me m my 1\ee~. §. XVIII. I !hall conclude this with one l'a!fage mote, and that 1S a vtry large, plain, and p~rtinent one: Honour all Al_en, and Love the Brorb~·r· bao(J: That is LovL' is above Honour, and that 11 referved for the Brorbubood. But H~nour, which is Ef!eem and Regard, that thou oweft to aft Men ; and if ..tJI, then thy IJiferiors. But why, For ..dl~ A1en ? .. Becaufe they are the Creation of God, and the Nobleft Part of hts Creatton to;;> ; they are alfo thy own Kind : Be Nat11ral, have Bowels, and affift tl~m with what thou c•n!l; be ready to perform any Real Rtfpetf, and yteld them any GoOd. or Countenance thou canft. §. XIX. And yet there feems a Lit_nitation to this ~o~mand, Honour all Alen, in that Godly PaiTJge _of Davr1, Who foal/ abrde zn thy Ta~ernac/e? Wbo foal! dwell iJt thy Holy llr/1? He m wbofe Eye, a Vile Perfon ts conrem· 11ed. b11t be bonouretb them 1bar Fear the Lord. Here Honour is.confined and affix~d to Godly Perjtms, and Dijh~no11~ mad~ the Duty of the R_is_hre.ous to the Wicked and a Mark of thctr bemg Rrgbreom, thJt they Dijbon~ur; that is. flight 1 or difregard them. To conclude this Scripture~ Enquiry af· ter Hono11r t'fha\1 contraEhhe Subjefi of it under Three Ca.padties, Superiors, Equ;ls, and brferiors: Jfono11r to Superiors, is_ Obedience; to Equal~ Love; to Inferiors, Countenanct andHtlp: That IS Ho11011r after Gods Mind, and the Holy People's Falhion of Old. §. XX. Bot bow little of all this is to be feen or had in a poot empty H11t, Bow, Cringe, or Gowdy, Flattering Title ? Let the Tntth·fpe3king Witnefs of God in all Mankind judge. For I mull not appeal to Corrupt, Proud, and Self·feeking Man~ of the Good or Evil of theft: C~ftoms; th3_r, as little as he would render them, are loved and fought by htm, and he IS out of"Humour, and angry, if he has them not. .. This is our Second Reofon, why we refufe to praEhfe the accufiomed Cesemonies of Honour and RefpeO, hecaufe we find no fuch Notion or Ex· preffion, of Honour and RejpeO, recommended to us by the Holy Ghofi in the Scriptures of T R u T H . §. XXI. Our Third Reafon, for not ufing them as Teftimonie• of Honour and RefpeO, is, Becaufe there is no Difc01Jery of Honour or Refpe&: to Ce made by r/,em: 'Tis rather Eluding and Equivocating h; Cheating People of the Honour or Re{p_18 that is due tq them\ giving them Nothing in the Shew of Something. There is in them no Obedience to Superiors ; no Luve to EquJls; no Hr:Ip or Countenance to Inferiors. §. XXII. We are, we decbre to the whole World, for true Honour 3nd Rejjefl: We Honour the King, our Parents, our ~fters. our MagiftrJtes, out Landlords, one another, yea all Men, after God'~ Way, ufed by Holy Men and Women of old Time: But we refufe thefe Cufioms, as vain and deceitful ; not anfwcring the End they ate ufed for. • § XXIII. But Fourt1J/y, There is, yet more to be faid: We ~nd th3t v3io, l oofc, and worldly People, are the great Lovers and PraChfcrs of them, and moll: deride our Simplicity of Behaviour. Now we a!furedly know, frOin the SJcred Tefrimonies, that thofe People camzot give rrut Hono~r, thai live in a dijh.on011rable Spirit; they underftand it no~: But they can g~~! VoL. I. No CROSS, Nd CR.DWN. the Hac. 3nd K1~e~ ~ :uid that they are very liberal of; nor are any more eXpert at tt. Th1s IS, to us, a Proof, thlt no nuc Honour can be tefiified b thofe·Cuftoms, which Vttnit.y and LoojenejJ love nnd 11J~. y , §. XXIV. Ne>r to them, l will add Hypocrijie and Revtnge too. For how lmle do many c.a~e for each other? Nay, what Spight, Envy,.Ani· rnofity, ~ecret Back-bttm~, a>nd Plotting one againft another, under the ufe of the~e td!e RefpcCls; ull 1 :tffion, too firong for cunning, break throug11 HypocnHe lnto open Affront and Revenge. It cannot be 10 with the Scripnne- Honour: To obey, or prefer a M:tn, out of Spight, is not ufuJlly done. and to Love, Help, ~n·~, and C?untenance a PerfOn, in order to decci\'~ and be ~evenged of htm, ts :t Thmg never heard of: Thcfe admit of no 'Hypocrifie, nar R~veng~. Men.'" do not rhefc Things to p:tliiate Ill-will, ~htch ate t~e Tefitmontes of qune the contrary. 'Tis ahfurd tO im:~gine Jt, becaufc tmpoffihle to be done. §. XXV. Our Sixth ReaiO~ is, Th3t Hflno11r n'm f rom tbc Beginnin.t, but Hrtt-Rej)eflr, and m!lfl Trtles, are of !are: Therefore there Wls True Hono11r before Hats o.r Titles; and confequenrly true Honour fiands not in thc:m. An~ that wbt~h ever wa~ the Way to exprefS true Honour, is the ~~ :.ay 1hll; and thts the Sc:uptute teaches better than Dancing~JII(Ijlen . §. XXVI. Sevenrhly, If Hono11r confifis inf~tcb like Certmooies, rLcn wiU Jt foUow, that ~bey are moll capable of jhewing Hono11r, wbo pc1form ir mojl exaflly, ouordmg to the Mode or Fa{hion of rbe Times; confequemly, that M~n _ha~ n~t the Meafure of true Honour, from a Juft and ReJfonahle Punctple m htmf~lf, hut by theJMea~s and Skill of the Fantajlick. Dan(in • Majlers of the T1mes; A:nd fo_r thiS Caufe it is we fee, that many gi;e much Money to h~ve thetr Chtldren learn their Honours, faltly fo called. And what dot~ thiS but totally exclude the poor Co11ntry People;" who, tho' they Plow, T1U, Sow, ReJp, go to Market; and in all Things Obey their Juft1ces, Landlords, Fat~ersi and Mafters, with Sincerity and Sobriety rarely \lfe.thofe Ceremomes; but if they do; it is fo awkwJrdly and mean! ly, that they are elteemed by a Court·Critick fo ill·favour'dt as only fie to make. a Jefi of, and be laugh"d at: But what fOber MJn will not deem their Obed1ence beyond the other's Vanity and Hypocrifie ? This ha.fe J\'otion of lfonour turns out of Doors the True, and fets the Fslfe in it's Place. Let it ~e further confid:r.ed, that the Way or Fafhion of doing ir, is much more Rt he D_efign of Jt s Performers, as well as View of it's SpcEl:arors than the efpe8 _n felf. Whence it's comf!lonly faid, He U a Man of g;od Mein; or, She.ts a ll'oman of exafl Bchavrour. And what is this Beha\•iour but !a~tafttck, Crampt Pofiures, Jnd Cringings, unnatural to their Sha e 'and tf tt were not FJfhionable, Ridiculous to the View of aU Peopt/ ~nd ~ therefore to the Eaflenz Countries a Proverb. ' Ti§. XXVII. But yet Eigbrbly, ReJl Honour confiflt not in a Hnt B?r.u or · 1668. ~ Ch~p. IX: z~k, btc•ufe nll _thefe Things may be bad for A1oncy. For which Reafon, ho.v m.any Dancmg·Scboolt, Plays, &:c. are there in the Land, to which. Yo~th Is generally fent to be Educated in thefe vain Fafhions? Whilfl they ~[fibf"0fa~t of the Hon_o11r that 1:s of God, and their Minds are allured to {: k e h1!lgs that pen{h; Jnd_tnfiead of remembring their Creator are a en up With Toys ~n~ Fol?~eues; and fometimes fo much worfe, ;s to M~ themfch•~s a. DJf~tnhermng, and their indifcreet Parents Grief and. p 1 ery ~11 rhea Days, If Parents would honour God in the Help of his fioodr, wheuh the Subfia_nce they he!tow on futh Jn Education they would Prov.1 • .; n a rrer Account m the End. ' H.§. XXVIll. But L.jlly, We cannot cflum &ws Titles ond,PuUing off af G11'/• r_o he real Honour, hecaufc fudt.like C11jlo~.r }JtJve'bun prohd1iuJ by Tro ' /1tr Son nn:l Servantt, in dajs pafl. This I (halt endeavour to !hew by hree or Four Exptefs Authorities. 111§:/XIX. My Fit!! Eumple and Aothotity, is taken from the S:oty of 1 {f eca, and Ha~.1n ; fo clofe to this Point, rhat methinks it fhould :tt ea command Stlencc to the Objections frequently advanced aga inft us. * Haman |