A fool is led with his humour,2 and his lust even as the beast, so there is no wicked man that shakes of the fear of God, (which is true wisdom,) but he is led with his humour, and passion, and affection to some earthly thing. Now a man can never be wise, and passionate unless in one case, when the good is so exceeding that no passion can be answerable as in zeal, in divine matters, that will excuse all exorbitant carriage otherwise. When David danced before the Ark, a man would think it had been a foolish matter except it had been in a divine business, ⟨p. 13⟩when the matter is wondrous great that it deserves any pitch of affection then a man may be eager, and wise: but for the things of this life, for a man to disquiet himself and others, to hunt after a vain shadow, (as the Psalmist saith) after riches and honour; and to neglect the main end of a mans life, it is extreme folly a man that is passionate in this respect cannot be wise, all fools are passionate, and wicked men have their affections set deeply on somewhat else besides God. Because passion presents things in a false glass,2 as ⟨p. 14⟩when a man sees the sun through a cloud he seems bigger, when men look not on things in the judgment of the scripture, and the spirit of God, and right reason, but through affection, things appear to them otherwise then they are and themselves afterwards see themselves fo•les: Take a worldling on his death bed, or in hell, he sees himself a fool then, when his drunkenness is past, when he is come to himself, and is sober, he sees that he hath catched all his lifetime after shadows, wicked men that are carried with their lusts to earthly things, ⟨p. 15⟩they cannot be wise, therefore the rich man in the Gospel, is called a fool, and in Jer. 17. he speaks of a man that labours all his life time, and in the end is a fool; Is not he a fool that will carry a burden, and load himself in his journey more then he needs, and is not he a spiritual fool, that loads himself with thick clay (as the Prophet calls it) and makes his pilgrimage more cumbersome then he needs? Is not he a fool that lays the heaviest weight on the weakest: that puts off the heaviest burden of repentance, to the time of sickness, ⟨p. 16⟩and trouble, and death, when all his troubles meet in a centre as it were, and he hath enough to do to conflict with his sickness.
A foole is led with his humour,2 and his lust even as the beast, so there is no wicked man that shakes of the feare of God, (which is true wisedome,) but hee is led with his humour, and passion, and affection to some earthly thing. Now a man can never bee wise, and passionate unlesse in one case, when the good is so exceeding that no passion can be answerable as in zeale, in divine matters, that will excuse all exorbitant carriage otherwise. When David danced before the Arke, a man would thinke it had beene a foolish matter except it had been in a divine businesse, ⟨p. 13⟩when the matter is wondrous great that it deserues any pitch of affection then a man may be eager, and wise: but for the things of this life, for a man to disquiet himselfe and others, to hunt after a vaine shadow, (as the Psalmist saith) after riches and honour; and to negl•ct the mayne end of a mans life, it is extreame folly a man that is passionate in this respect cannot be wise, all fooles are passionate, and wicked men have their affections set deeply on somewhat else besides God. Because passion presents things in a false glasse,2 as ⟨p. 14⟩when a man sees the sunne through a cloud he seems bigger, when men looke not on things in the judgment of the scripture, and the spirit of God, and right reason, but through affection, things appeare to them otherwise then they are and themselues afterwards see themselues fo•les: Take a worldling on his death bed, or in hell, hee sees himselfe a foole then, when his drunkennesse is past, when hee is come to himselfe, and is sober, he sees that he hath catched all his lifetime after shadowes, wicked men that are carried with their lusts to earthly things, ⟨p. 15⟩they cannot be wise, therfore the rich man in the Gospell, is called a foole, and in Ier. 17. hee speaks of a man that labors all his life time, and in the end is a foole; Is not he a foole that will carrie a burthen, and load himselfe in his journey more then hee needs, and is not hee a spirituall foole, that loads himselfe with thick clay (as the Prophet calls it) and makes his pilgrimage more cumbersome then hee needs? Is not hee a foole that layes the heaviest weight on the weakest: that puts off the heaviest burthen of repentance, to the time of sicknesse,
- 2For passion
- 2Passion presents things falsely.
