A MODEL HEREOF
God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence hath so disposed of the Condition
of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent
in power and dignity others mane and in subjection.
THE REASON HEREOF
1. Reason: First, to hold conformity with the rest of his works being
delighted to show forth the glory of his wisdom in the variety and difference
of the Creatures and the glory of his power in ordering all these differences
for the preservation and good of the whole; and the glory of his greatness that
as it is the glory of princes to have many officers, so this great King will
have many Stewards, counting himself more honored in dispensing his gifts to
man by man, than if tree did it by his own immediate hand.
2. Reason: Secondly, That he might have the more occasion to manifest the work
of his Spirit: first, upon the wicked in moderating and restraining them: so
that the riche and mighty should not eat up the poor, nor the poor and despised
rise up against their superiors and shake off their yoke; secondly in the
regenerate in exercising his graces in them, as in the great ones, their love,
mercy, gentleness, temperance, etc., in the poor and inferior sort, their faith,
patience, obedience, etc.
3. Reason: Thirdly, That every man might have need of other, and from hence
they might be all knit more nearly together in the Bond of brotherly affection:
from hence it appears plainly that no man is made more honorable than another
or more wealthy etc., out of any particular and singular respect to himself but
for the glory of his Creator and the Common good of the Creature, Man, Therefore
God still reserves the property of these gifts to himself as Ezek: 16.17. he
there calls wealth his gold and his silver, etc. Proverbs 3.9 he claims their
service as his due honor the Lord with thy riches, etc. All men being thus (by
divine providence) ranked into two sorts, riche and poor; under the first, are
comprehended all such as are able to live comfortably by their own means duly
improved; and all others are poor according to the former distribution. There
are two rules whereby we are to walk one towards another: JUSTICE and MERCY. These
are always distinguished in their Act and in their object, yet may they both
concur in the same Subject in each respect; as sometimes there may be an
occasion of showing mercy to a rich man, in some sudden danger of distress, and
also doing of mere Justice to a poor man in regard of some particular contract,
etc. There is likewise a double Law by which we are regulated in our conversation
one towards another: in both the former respects, the law of nature and the law
of grace, or the moral law or the law of the gospel!, to omit the rule of
Justice as not properly belonging to this purpose otherwise than it may fall
into consideration in some particular Cases: By the first of these laws man as
he was enabled so withal [is] commanded to love his neighbor as himself. Upon
this ground stand all the precepts of the moral law, which concerns our
dealings with men. To apply this to the works of mercy this law requires two things:
first, that every man afford his help to another in every want or distress.
Secondly, That he performer this out of the same affection which makes him
careful! of his own good according to that of our Savior, Math: [7.12]
Whatsoever ye would that men should doe to you. This was practiced by Abraham
and Lott in entertaining the Angels and the old man of Gibea.
The Law of Grace or the Gospel hath some difference from the former as in
these respects: first, the law of nature was given to man in the estate of innocence;
this of the gospel in the estate of regeneracy. Secondly, the former propounds
one man to another, as the same flesh and Image of god; this as a brother in
Christ also, and in the Communion of the same spirit and so teaches us to put a
difference betwen Christians and others. Doe good to
all, especially to the household of faith; upon this ground the Israelites were
to putt a difference betwen the brethren of such as
were strangers though not of the Canaanites. Thirdly, the Law of nature could
give no rules for dealing with enemies, for all are to be considered as friends
in the estate of innocence, but the Gospel commands love to an enemy. Proof: If
your Enemy hunger feed him; Love your Enemies, doe good to them that hate you
Math: 5.44.
This Law of the Gospel propounds likewise a difference of seasons and
occasions. There is a time when a Christian must sell all and give to the poor,
as they did in the Apostles times. There is a time also when a Christian (though
they give not all yet) must give beyond their ability, as they of
It rests now to make some application of this discourse by the present design
which gave the occasion of writing of in Herein are four things to be
propounded: first, the persons; secondly, the work; thirdly, the end; fourthly,
the meanest
1. For the persons, we are a Company professing our selves fellow members of
Christ, in which respect only though we were absent from each other many miles,
and had our employments as far distant, yet we ought to account our selves
knits together by this bond of love, and live in the exercise of it, if we
would have comfort of our being in Christ. This was notorious in the practice
of the Christians in former times, as is testified of the Waldenses from the
mouth of one of the adversaries Aeneas Sylvius, mutuo [solent amare] pene
antequam norint. They use to love any of their own religion even before they
were acquainted with them.
2. For the work we have in hand, it is by a mutual consent through a special
overruling providence, and a more than an ordinary approbation of the Churches
of Christ to seek out a place of Cohabitation and Consort ship under a due form
of Government both civil and ecclesiastical!. In such cases as this the care of
the public must over sway all private respects, by which not only conscience,
but mere Civil policy cloth bind us; for it is a true rule that particular
estates cannot subsist in the ruin of the public.
3. The end is to improve our lives, to doe more service to the Lord, the comfort
and increase of the body of Christ whereof we are members, that our selves and
posterity may be the better preserved from the Common corruptions of this evil
world, to serve the Lord and work out our Salvation under the power and purity
of his holy Ordinances.
4. For the means whereby this must bee effected, they are twofold, a
Conformity with the work and end we aim at; these we see are extraordinary,
therefore we must not content our selves with usual ordinary meanest Whatsoever
we did or ought to have done when we lived in England, the same must we doe and
more also where we go: That which the most in their Churches maintain as a truth
in profession only, we must bring into familiar and constant practice, as in
this duty of love we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love
one another with a pure hearse fervently, we must bear one another’s burdens, we
must not look only on our own things but also on the things of our brethren,
neither must we think that the lord will bear with such failings at our hands
as tree clothe from those among whom we have lived.
Thus stands the cause betwen God and us. We are
entered into Covenant with him for this work, we have taken out a Commission
the Lord hath given us leave to draw our own Articles, we have professed to
enterprise these Actions upon these and these ends, we have hereupon besought
him of favor and blessing: Now if the Lord shall please to hear us, and bring
us in peace to the place we desire. then hath tree ratified this Covenant and
sealed our Commission [and] will expect a strict performance of the Articles
contained in it, but if we shall neglect the observation of these Articles
which are the ends we have propounded, and dissembling with our God, shall fall
to embrace this present world and prosecute our carnal intentions seeking
grease things for our selves and our posterity, the Lord will surely break out
in wrath against us, be revenged of such a perjured people and make us know the
price of the breach of such a Covenant.
Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck and to provide for our posterity is
to follow the Counsel of Micah, to doe Justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly
with our God. For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man, we
must entertain each other in brotherly Affection, we must be willing to abridge
our selves of our superfluities, for the supply of others necessities, we must
uphold a familiar Commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality,
we must delight in each other, make others Conditions our own, rejoice
together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our
eyes our Commission and Community in the work, our Community as members of the
same body, so shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, the
Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us as his own people and will
command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of
his wisdom, power, goodness and truth than formerly we have been acquainted
with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be
able to resist a thousand of our enemies, when he shall make us a praise and
glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations: the lord make it like that
of New England: for we must Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill,
the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our
god in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present
help from us, we shall shame the faces of many of gods worthy servants, and
cause their prayers to be turned into Curses upon us till we be consumed out of
the good land whither we are going: And to shut up this discourse with that exhortation
of Moses, that faithful! servant of the Lord in his last farewell to
Therefore let us choose life,
that we, and our Seed,
may live; by obeying his
voice, and cleaving to him,
for he is our life, and
our prosperity.