are not appropriated to any orders of men; all who are numbered among the sheep of Christ, all who are in the midst of wolves, are concerned in this wholesome advice of our Saviour, Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Were wisdom and innocence so closely linked together, that they were never to be found asunder, or were they singly sufficient to the purposes of life, so that there was little or no harm from their being separated, this precept of our Saviour would be less necessary but the ill consequences of their disunion, the expediency of their conjunction, and consequently the necessity of our observing this precept of our Lord, will evidently appear, if we take a view,

I. Of the great mischiefs that arise from the want of wisdom in those that are harmless.

II. Of the still greater mischiefs that arise from the want of innocence in those that are wise.

III. Of the mighty advantages that result from our being at the same time both wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Of these heads I shall speak in general, though not without an eye all along to our enemies of the church of Rome; to whom I shall afterwards more particularly apply what shall have been delivered.

First, then, let us take a view of the great mischiefs that arise from the want of wisdom in those that are harmless.

There is so near an affinity between wisdom and goodness, that according to the notions of the moralists, prudence is an essential ingredient of every virtue; and even according to the language of holy writ, which is much more to be depended upon, wisdom and piety, folly and wickedness, are terms equivalent. But then this must be understood rather of the highest

perfection of virtue considered in theory, than of those lower degrees of it which are to be met with in common practice. For experience assures us, that there are many persons whose hearts are sincere and upright, and who make it their earnest and unwearied study to have a conscience void of offence, both towards God and towards man, of whom, notwithstanding, it must be confessed, that they do not more excel others in virtue and piety, than they are surpassed by others in sharpness of wit, in subtlety of counsels, and depth of understanding. They have wisdom sufficient to save their own souls, and to obtain eternal happiness in the life to come; but they have not circumspection enough to espy, nor all the dexterity that is necessary to escape, those manifold dangers, to which they are exposed in their passage through a wicked and deceitful world. There is in them a sweetness of nature and tenderness of conscience which will not suffer them to do the least injury to any; hence they are not apt to suspect any evil intentions in others towards them; and, for want of this due caution, are unprovided against the attempts of crafty and ill-designing men. They form their judgments of mankind, not from observations of what is done abroad, which these good men seldom make, but from reflections upon what passes within their own breasts, which they are much more intent upon. Hence they frame a probable opinion of the integrity of others, from what they certainly know of their own: and as it hath been observed to be a frequent error, and very familiar with wise men, to measure other persons by the model of their own abilities, and thereby often to shoot over the mark, as supposing men to project to themselves deeper ends and to practise more subtle arts than ever came into their thoughts; so is it a no

less frequent mistake with very good men, who measure others by the standard of their own uprightness, to think of them, and to deal with them, as if they were much more honest than they truly are.

There is in good Christians so great an hatred of all falsehood and dissimulation, that it would not only give a deep wound to their consciences, but would even do a violence to their natures, to tell a known lie; and thinking others to be framed just as they are, and to act upon the same principles as they do, they are too liable to be imposed upon by men of false tongues and deceitful lips. Whatever is barely affirmed, is by them easily credited; what is vouched with solemn asseverations, leaves still less room in their breasts for doubt; what is confirmed by oaths, and ratified by an appeal to the omniscience and an imprecation of the vengeance of God, hath with them all the force and credibility of a self-evident and mathematical truth. And as honest and sincere Christians are thus apt to lay themselves open to the practices of others, by their too great credulity; so also are they wont to discover those secrets of their own hearts, which might with a good conscience be concealed, and which cannot without prejudice be disclosed, through their too great freedom and openness. They are so much afraid of disguising their thoughts by lying and hypocrisy, that they often want that prudent reservedness which is no ways inconsistent with the sincerity of a downright honest man or the simplicity of a good Christian; they bear testimony of themselves and of their inward sentiments, even in their ordinary conversation, as if they were to give evidence upon their oaths at the bar; and deem it not sufficient to maintain the character of their veracity, that they speak nothing but what is true, unless they at the same time speak out all the

Prov. xii.

22.

11.

truth. That lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, is an aphorism which never slips out of the thoughts of these honest and well meaning persons; but they

are often apt to forget that other observation of SoloProv. xxix. mon, that a fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. For want of this prudent reserve they heedlessly incur dangers, which, without any prejudice to their virtue, they might escape, if they would call in the succours of wisdom to their own

Ecclus. vi. 24.

necessary defence. Where these are not called in, men are apt to avoid one extreme by running into another, which, though not equally sinful, may be very hazardous: so far are they from revenging injuries, as to invite them; so far from being cruel, as to be tame; so far from hating their enemies, as to cherish them; so far from persecuting, as not to fence and guard themselves against persecution; so far from using those offensive weapons of force and oppression which the gospel forbids, as not to make use of those defensive arms of prudence and caution which the soldiers of Christ are both allowed and required to be expert in.

When the wise man adviseth us to search after wisdom, to put our feet into her fetters, and our neck into her chains; he assures us, for our encouragement, that her fetters shall be a strong defence for us, and her chains a robe of glory. We have seen some of the mischiefs which happen to virtuous men through want of this defence, and it would not be difficult to show what further detriment accrues to virtue itself from the lack of this ornament. For when men, through a natural disposition to goodness, are very honest, but, through a defect of good understanding, are not equally wise; this unguarded simplicity is too apt to betray them into some little weaknesses and indiscretions, which may cast a blemish both on them and on those virtues.

which they practise, but in an unbecoming manner and with an ill grace. And though good nature and Christian charity should overlook a few small faults in those who are conspicuous for many eminent virtues, yet, in an ill-natured and uncharitable world, the want of discretion in good men may chance to cast a greater blemish on religion, than the honour done it by their virtue and integrity will ever be able to wipe off. Let any one calmly consider how contemptible a figure devotion makes when it degenerates into superstition; how great mischief zeal hath done in the world when it hath wanted the guidance of discretion; and how often conscientious persons have unwittingly been made the instruments of men of no conscience, to bring about their most wicked purposes; and he will be convinced of the necessity of adding to our virtue knowledge, and of joining the wisdom of the serpent to the innocence of the dove.

That prudence which is by our Saviour prescribed as the most proper preservative against the rage of persecutors, is more especially necessary to guard us of the reformed religion against the furious attempts and subtle machinations of our sworn, inveterate, and implacable enemies of the church of Rome. If the wisdom of the servant was therefore necessary to the apostles, because they were sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, it becomes us, who are encompassed with the like adversaries, and exposed to the like dangers, to arm ourselves with the like wariness and precaution. We profess the same pure and undefiled faith which the apostles preached: and as our reformers took especial care that our church should, as to its doctrine, discipline, and worship, be restored to the same state wherein it was by the apostles at first constituted; so the malice of our enemies hath further