The Morning exercise [at] Cri[ppleg]ate, or, Several cases of conscience practically resolved

You may murder a man with a thought, as they say the Rasilisk will with a look, such a poisonous thing a wicked heart is; and let me tell you 'tis the heart-murder, and the heart-adultery, and the heart-blasphemy, and the heart-iniquity, that God especially judges, according to that famous place, Jer. 17.10. I the Lord search the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, i. e. according to what I see acted and done upon the stage of the heart, says God; he does not only judge the actions, but he judges the very intentions.

You may murder a man with a thought, as they say the Rasilisk will with a look, such a poysonous thing a wicked heart is; and let me tell you 'tis the heart-murder, and the heart-adultery, and the heart-blasphemy, and the heart-iniquity, that God especially judges, according to that famous place, Jer. 17.10. I the Lord search the heart, to give to every man according to his wayes, i. e. according to what I see acted and done upon the stage of the heart, sayes God; he does not onely judge the actions, but he judges the very intent•ons.

3. By connivance, by a sinful dissembling, flattering and winking at others in their wickedness and sins, so men become guilty of others sins Isa. 9.16. The leaders of this people cause them t• err; 'tis in the Hebrew the blessers of this people cause them to err. Beloved,¹ the blessers of men in wickedness are the leaders of men in wickedness; he that shall wink at, and flatter men in Sins when he knows in his conscience that they do wickedly he makes himself Captain and Master of mis-rule among them And thus we are too prone to be partakers of Magistrates sins, and Governors sins, and great mens sins Patrons sins, and Landlords sins. If the Grandees of the world profane the Sabbath, dishonour God, rant and swear, and scoff at Religion; out of a base cowardly spirit, or out of a carnal covetous heart, we flatter them and let them alone, it may be applaud them as he said Tu fa hunc Dominum, te facit ille Deum, doe but make him a Lord, and he straight-way makes thee a God; as if we were not to distinguish between the persons of men, and the vices of men, or as if so be we more feared a mortal man, whose breath is in his nostrils, than we do the immortal God, who can frown us into hell in a moment: Oh ths is to be deeply guilty of other mens Sins. See how sharply God by his Prophet taxes and reproves this daubing in those wicked upholsters, that